Re: Egypt protesters break Mursi palace cordon
Egypt’s supreme court ruled that the parliament elected after the revolution was improperly elected because members of political parties ran for independent seats. Most external observers acknowledge that this was an effort by the judges (appointed by Hosni Mubarak) to break up a Parliament that the Muslim Brotherhood dominated.
In the absence of parliament, most power was held by the army until a new parliament could be elected according to the new constitution (which was still to be decided). Mursi’s ruling in August stripped the Army of political power and gave all government power to himself until a new Parliament could be elected. However, he stated that he would avoid using all the powers he gave himself (as he did not want to rule as a dictator).
The exception was in early december, when he ruled that the courts could not dissolve the constitutional assembly that was about to propose the new constitution assembly, and that anything he did until the new constitution was in place could not be legally challenged.
After the constitution was proposed and the assembly no longer needed, he dropped these exceptional powers. However, he still has the power of both the presidency and parliament until a new parliament is elected, next month.
After the parliament is elected, Morsi will lose the majority of his power to whoever the new Prime Minister is.